(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to gas/liquid separators, and more particularly to a gas/liquid separator system that uses a combination of centrifugal force and gravity to achieve a more efficient separation process.
(2) Description of the Prior Art
A gas/liquid separator (also called a hydrocyclone) facilitates the separation of gases from gas/liquid mixtures. One type of gas/liquid separator is known as a centrifugal separator. Typically, the gas/liquid mixture is introduced into a conical housing where the mixture is forced to spin therein. As the mixture is spun, the heavier liquid moves, due to centrifugal force, to the walls of the housing while the gas migrates inward. In the case of conical housings, efficiency of separation is usually only about 50% because some liquid remains entrained within the gas while separated liquid exits the apex of the cone via gravity. The residual gas/liquid mixture flows out through the center of the cone through a hollow outlet tube called the vortex finder. See, for example, Suh, et al, U.S. Pat. No. 4,617,031. Attempts at improving separation efficiency while increasing flow volume include increasing the size of the separating vessel or using a multiplicity of small volume separators in tandem. However, either of these options results in greater equipment costs and space requirements.
A novel cylindrical gas/liquid separator is disclosed in my aforementioned copending application. This separator has been proven to operate with an approximate 100% efficiency of separation. However, certain industrial applications (e.g. the oil industry) need to achieve fully 100% gas/liquid separation efficiency for all flow rates over a long period of time. However, as mentioned above, prior art systems have relied on cascading a number of separators to achieve a high efficiency. This results in large and expensive separation systems.
Furthermore, prior art systems typically use a system of valves and sensors to maintain such a cascading system under a constant pressure head - a necessity for efficient operation. Unfortunately, over a long period of time, these valves and sensors clog and/or fail. The resulting maintenance and down time add to the cost of such a system.